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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 1996)
F Snoop Doggy Dogg “Tim Doggfather” Death Row Records Grade: A - Snoop Doggy Dogg has been a busy man in the past three years. Since the 1993 release ofhis detail album, “Doggystyle,” he. has made a short film, fathered a son, recorded the occasional single, seen his friend and label-mate Tupac Shakur murdered, garnered a few awards, witnessed the departure ofhis friend and mentor Dr. Dre from Death Row Records and gone through a murder trial. To say the least, it hasn’t been an inactive time.period for Dogg, a.k.a. Calvin Broadus. But Dogg has emerged from this three-year series of trials and tribulations with a new out look on lifepand this phenomenally successful rapper — who more often than not saw his name preceded by “Dr. Dre protege” — has taken on a new n -_ albums of 1996(“Do^^fe^ha^^d over 5 million copies),>£ba Doggfather? doesn’t break much new ground musically; but the lyrics are Dogg’s true love, and lyrically, this al bttHWfrte^Wabead Dogg paste Dogg spares no time in going on the attack from the album’s start, in stantly refuting critics who have la mented (or- celebrated) the death of gangsta rap and the potential downhill of Dogg from rap’s upper echelons. Noticeably absent from this album are the brief comedy interludes and blatantly misogynistic tracks that pol luted “Doggystyle” to a point far past distraction and detracted ffom Dogg’s usually exemplary style. The lyrics never slow down here, with Dogg preaching an end to street violence and an embracing of the powers of love, knowledge and unity. But Dogg has always been solid lyrically. This time around, the beats ' that would run behind him came into question, even before a producer had been tapped to replace the near-legend ary Dr. Dre. As it turns out, those questions never needed to be asked. After a brief intro, the album’s title track leads into the music with the smooth and funky background mix that was perfected by Dre on Dogg’s debut album and Dre’s own release, “The Chronic.” But this time DJ Pooh is at the con trols. While Dre’s production shoes may have seemed ominous ones to fill, Pooh and Dogg’s other cohorts (includ ing Dat Nigga Daz, Kurupt and L.T.) have tackled the job with a vengeance, matching and even surpassing some of Dre’s funkiest tracks. Particularly worthy of mention are “Gold Rush,” “Blueberry”and “2001 three tracks that could easily play ball wiihany of the funkiest tracks ever re corded. whole, the album is a looser ana less calculated approach to music and lyrics that exceeds “Doggystyle” in maturity, rhythm and eonscience. And with an album like this under his belt, Dogg no longer has t© declare that he’s back he’s here to stay. • —Jeff Randall Cake ■'= ..-V “Fashion Nugget” Capricorn Records ;1 'Grade; A ' : .. 1 k <r “ 7 V" :i After unleashing one of the most promising andorigi^debut releases' set themselves up for a pretty hefty fall on their sophomore release. ” does more 1994T -tj.xl. -i wdnOW^, cuts fijirther into the musical style Cakfc has made fix itself and does so witha broader palette of emotional content. The first single from the album, “The Distance,” has hit the MTV and radio airwaves head-on, revealing the band’s ability for catchy songs spiced with sly humor. The lyrics tell the story of a man who continues driving his car in circles long after a race has ended. It’s a song ripe for interpretation, but it probably has very little content be neath the surface. That’s the Cake way. They write generally superficial and simple songs but perform them with an intimate and personal style that makes than sound suspiciously deep. The result is a feel similar to that of a seedy lounge singer belting out his rendition of “My Way” with fall bra vado and little pure emotion. You know the guy *s not real ly hurting, but he sure is on his knees. And Cake frontman John McCrea may not really mean it when he spews mild venom on “Friend is a Four Let ter Word” or gushes glorious pride on the cover of “I Will Survive,” but he’ll be damned if Cake doesn’t make it at least sound good. In an age of faked angst and wannabe soulsters, Cake has recap tured both the innocence and the slea ziness of Vegas-style crooners by giv ing up on pretentiousness and embrac irtgstyle for what it is. And it’s beauti ful, baby, it’s beautiful. The Colt “High Octane—me Ultimate col lection 1984-1995” Reprise Records Grade: A if Neil Young is the Godfather of Grunge, members of the Cult are the cool older brothers alternative rode never had. . V r’-li ~___11_' nrt.' v^uiv via opaua 11 jrvaia. uigjr | were, above a^l else, a blues-rock band i who just happened to incorporates bjk. of metal. . ■ Formed by vocalist Ian Astbuiy and I guitarist Bill Duffy, The Cult began re-1 doling in 1984. As explained by the join's Una* notes, the two were com-1 IfgfcgpgKHites—Astbury was the type of man who wanted to emulate Jim firfilfy footed on the ground: . The Cult took aspects of Hendrix orrison and blended them with Octane” spans The Cult’s en tire Mstory, from their first single, “Spiritwaiker,” to their last one, “Stanf All the great songsthat weren’t singles are here, too, like “The Witch.” As time progressed, The Cult less ened the psychedelia and focused more on blending blues ami pop with metal, trying to cante out a niche for them selves. Eventually something had to give, however, and bassist Jamie Stewart, the glue that held Astbury and Duffy to gether, quit die band in 1989. Duffy and Astbury still went on to make two more records, but there was no chance of The Cult lasting, and ev ery fan knew it. .. J “High Oetane”is a tour-de-force of The Chit and its influence an the mu sic scene oftoday. The members ofThe Cult have gone their separate ways, but their music lives cm. —Cliff Hicks BANDS from page 12 (he spared the Knickerbocker ’s crowd the size-7 dresses he's also been known to wear onstage). These young men literally made the crowd jump when they shattered the bar-room calm with their intense en ergy and loud, angry shredding. Formed five years ago, the quartet is promoting their latest release, “Frosthidden.’’ Members of fragile porcelain mice describe their sound as groove-oriented and aggressive. That’s kind of an un derstatement, cm both counts. The amount of energy this band inspires, in itself and in the crowd, is mind-bog gling. This band has serious potential, but they lean too heavily on the guitar shred-tempo change-guitar shred for mat. An increase in Randall’s vocal range wouldn’t hurt the band either. r-, flu) 6 nr.HU dUZ ".%fsyr s I Mkyic, Mihixtur«i, Rol« Plijfinj, fcnJ Mor«. I L 2A39 Rudolf.k St. • 476-8602 J c\\tO^L' ® land and sky j >** S1* 20% OFF! all regular prices I OT'rvnr'uirnp ■ 1 _ .. Looking for something to do this week? MM_ jS?*gg-1 Are Yj cist? Yoor IllPfi j||gg*j|| t;..\ $3.00 - Students • $5.00 - UNL Faculty • $8.00 - Public : - •mm*u‘am**l!F,'~***mi****#^^ % Campus Rec Annual Pitch Tournament! (f'interested, call 472-8146 to sign up! gj,j V.r!!^or^ Nov. 21,9 p.m. V* ai\d P°v The Crib, Nebraska Union M *iativ#AK»er I |1 Uli1,w '**.* -:: •*«»"- ,T£tf«KS ."”■ ' '-'■ . ^ £ 1? ->!!>.* r.'C'y ; * j iTl.' / VbUJ- ‘ vl i*l J«i, «v»se4ii*i < i - . ■ • * •